The American
Chestnut
The American chestnut was
once one of the most important trees in the
Eastern forest. In the
heart of its range a count of trees would have turned up one chestnut
for every four oaks, birches, maples and other hardwoods.
The tree was one of
the best for timber. It grew straight and
often branch-free for 50 feet. Loggers tell of loading entire
railroad cars with boards cut from just one tree. Straight-grained,
lighter in weight than oak and more easily
worked, chestnut was as rot resistant as redwood.
The range of
greatest dominance
in the United
States stretched from
Maine to Georgia.
The tree is now
native to southern Ontario, and
some researchers
believe that until
the late 1800s it
may also have
been present in
northern Florida.